ARSENAL midfielder Abou Diaby insists he is ready and willing to step into Alex Song's shoes when the 22-year-old jets off to compete for Cameroon in the African Nations Cup in the new year.

Diaby, who notched his 15th goal in 127 appearances for the Gunners against Hull on Saturday, is one of the players that boss Arsene Wenger will consider deploying in the midfield anchoring role in Song's absence. And the Frenchman claims he would be only too happy to abandon his attacking instincts and fill in there for the team.

"I'm ready for it if they ask me to do it," he told Arsenal's Official Matchday Programme. "I have done it before. It's good for me to be more aggressive and concentrate on the defensive side.

"I haven't heard anything about it yet though. As I say, I'm happy to play anywhere."

However, Wenger may be tempted to look at other options, like Denilson or even Samir Nasri, who occupied the role with distinction towards the end of last season, as he believes Diaby is more of a forward-thinking player.

"He is more of an offensive player," Wenger told Arsenal's official website. "He is not a defensive-minded player and he's not a holding player. He's a player who crosses the field at ease, goes from box to box like it's no distance and has good power as well.”

Inevitable comparisons have long been made between Diaby and a certain Patrick Vieira, given that the pair are of similar build and have comparable languid styles with which they go about their football.

But Wenger disagrees, and says that the two are actually bring very different qualities to the table.

"I believe Vieira was more of a passer of the ball. Diaby is more of a dribbler, more offensive and makes more penetrating runs. Vieira was more of a constructor. They have a similar elegance and type of play but are not completely comparable."

Diaby's first-team chances have been hampered by a succession of injuries during his formative years, but Wenger admits he has high hopes for the 22-year-old.

"He had a good sequence of games before he got injured," said the manager. "Sometimes he gets strange injuries but had a good week of training last week, he looked strong and is now becoming a very promising player for us.

"I must say that he is a fantastic player to coach aswell. Every day you can tell him 'do that, that and that and then you can go home'. He will always do it and he will do more.

"What has been frustrating for him at times is that he works very hard in training and then gets injured."